Sweet Dreamer
by Finatoru
Summary: Dreams are just dreams. They aren't real and they can't hurt you. But if you are Kagome Higurashi of the Sunset Shrine, dreams are a harsh reality. [InuKag]


AN: Bwah! I'm _so_ sorry that I didn't re-post this sooner! Argh… I'm such a procrastinator. Well, here is the first chapter (for the second time)! You may notice that the settings and such have changed, so I'd think it be best if you read this again if you are an "old" reader I apologize in advance for any holes and grammatical errors you might find. I was too lazy to read through it again --;

**Chapter One**

**A Date Forgotten, A Story Begins**

--

_For every joy, there must be pain, a scream for help, there's blood again… _

_Run, child, run._

--

A 15 just turned 16-year-old Kagome Higurashi of the Sunset Shrine had always been an average girl. She had average grades and average looks. She wasn't really popular, but she wasn't really unpopular either. Kagome yawned and stretched, working out the kinks of sleeping in an awkward position. She opened her eyes, revealing stormy blue orbs still a bit dull with sleep and stared at her digital clock. It was a moment before she processed the '12:00' flashing at her. Kagome grumbled at the unreliability of the contraption as she continued to stare at the clock, still lost in the state between being asleep and being awake. She groaned as she tumbled out of her chair, and trudged her way towards the bathroom that seemed so far, far away. Kagome was _not_ a morning person.

After what was a few seconds in reality, but was disguised as an eternity to Kagome, she collapsed against the closed door of the bathroom. Mumbling something incoherent, she fumbled with the door knob, but it seemed that the gleaming piece of metal did not want to co-operate with her. Not wanting to lose the battle to an inanimate object, Kagome doubled her efforts against the clever device. With a soft cry of victory, the door creaked open and Kagome flipped a switch.

Light flooded the small area, revealing a clean, well kept room with a soft pastel theme. Towels were neatly kept in a closet to the right and shampoo and other showering necessities were placed in a small rack nailed to the wall beside the bathtub.

She cringed and closed her eyes, blinded by the brightness.

Kagome, eyes still closed, walked slowly towards what she thought was the general direction of the sink and as a result, tripped and fell into the bathtub. Deciding that it would be safer to travel in her bathroom if she could see, she opened her eyes and blinked, waiting for the blurry pictures to come into focus and shielding her eyes from the glaring light with her hand. Getting up from her seat in the tub, Kagome stalked to her original destination, the sink, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Dark circles underneath her eyes, hair all over the place and was that drool she saw dribbling out of the corner of her mouth? She had been up late last night, but she could not remember for the life of her why in her current muddled state. Shaking her head and turning the tap on to cold, she splashed her face with the icy water coming out of the spout in an attempt to jump-start her still sleeping brain.

Waking up slightly more, Kagome turned off the tap and slid open her medicine cabinet. Moving a few bottles of aspirin and a package of band aids out of the way, she grabbed a half-used tube of toothpaste and began the task of brushing her teeth.

10 minutes later, a refreshed looking Kagome walked out of the bathroom and to her wardrobe to take out her uniform. Sighing as she slipped into the short green skirt and plain white top with green collar, Kagome grabbed a brush from her table and started combing through her tangle of hair, cringing every time the brush caught. When she could finally pull the brush through her black hair without it snagging, Kagome set the brush down on the table again, glancing once more at the digital clock flashing '12:00'. Rolling her eyes as she made a mental note to get fix it once she came home from school, Kagome climbed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning," her Mother said, not even taking her eyes off of the newspaper she was reading. Buyo, the family's obese feline, was currently trying to snatch something off of the table, already tired of the diet it had been put on. Kagome's Grandpa was retaliating by moving everything farther away from the table's edge.

"Good morning, Mama," Kagome replied, looking around for her younger brother Souta Higurashi while absent-mindedly taking a seat at the table and picking up her bowl of miso soup.

"If you're wondering where Souta is," her Mother said as if reading her mind, "He's already left for school. It's 8:00."

Kagome's eyes widened as she managed to choke out an incredulous "What?" around her mouthful of breakfast. Cursing her broken digital clock mentally, Kagome drank a couple of gulps of milk to help force down the food. She said a rushed "I'm off to school, bye," before dashing to the door way and hurriedly stepping into her shoes. She was already half-way down the stairs of the Shrine when she realized that she had forgotten to grab her backpack. Letting out a load groan of frustration, Kagome clambered up the steps and rushed up the path to the entrance of the Shrine for the second time in a few seconds.

Her Mother was already waiting for her at the doorway, holding her bag with the warm smile that Kagome was so familiar with.

"I was wondering when you would be coming back," her Mother said, the laughter clearly evident in her voice. "By the way, Happy Birthday, Kagome," she continued. Kagome blushed and took the pack from her Mother's hands, pausing to give the woman she had known for 16 years thanks and a hug. Saying her good-byes again, Kagome hopped down the steps by twos, hoping to make up for the lost time. Leaping down the last four stairs with a soft '_Oomph'_, Kagome started sprinting towards her school.

She pulled her left arm up to eye-level to check the time, and in that moment's ignorance, she tripped and instinctively brought up her arms to help absorb the shock of the fall. When the harsh ground never came, she was surprised to find two arms wrapped around her waist protectively and a chest in her face.

"Higurashi! Are you okay?" a person above her asked.

Kagome looked up.

There was an awkward silence.

Finally snapping out of her stupor, Kagome leapt up, nearly smacking Hojo in the face, and started apologizing profusely.

"Hojo! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, I should have been watching! I'm so sor-"

"It's ok, really!" Hojo cut her off, waving his hands in front of him.

Another moment of silence.

Hojo drew in a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

"Higurashi, would you like-"

But these words were lost to Kagome when she suddenly realized why she had been rushing to school in the first place.

"I'm going to be late! I'm sorry again, Hojo," she said, running off.

"-to go out this weekend…" Hojo finished to no one in particular. He sighed, and walked to his bike, lying on the floor where he had thrown it when he saw Kagome trip. Climbing onto his bike and began to pedal slowly. He decided that he would seek Kagome out at lunchtime. After all, he had already been waiting for a year, what was waiting for a couple of hours more?

--

Kagome paused at the entrance to her school, doubled over. She gasped for breath as a breeze swirled into existence and cooled her hot skin.

"Kagome!"

She looked up and swallowed, grimacing when her parched throat seemed to reject the action. By now Ayumi, Eri and Yuka, the people who had called her name, were already at her side. Before they could say anything more, the morning bell sounded. Kagome grinned, happy that she was not late for school. She reminded herself to smack her little brother upside the head when she got home for leaving without her. Standing up, Kagome brushed off the non-existent specks of dust from her uniform and followed her friends inside, deciding not to partake in their discussion of who was hotter than whom.

Yuka and Eri parted ways with Kagome and Ayumi a while after, Yuka and Eri having science first and Kagome and Ayumi having math. As latter two continued walking, a silence decided to settle over them. Ayumi, noticing this and not being one to like the quiet, decided to ask Kagome a question that would result in an amusing reaction.

"So, do you like anyone?" she enquired, waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Kagome's face turned red.

"Ayumi!" she spluttered.

Ayumi laughed and waved it off while Kagome continued to blush. They arrived outside the room of the math class, and Kagome paused, something nagging her at the back of her mind. She walked to her desk, frowning. Kagome shook her head, hoping to dislodge the piece of information that continued to bother her. She closed her eyes, biting her bottom lip in concentration. Suddenly, her blue grey orbs shot open.

"Math test today," her teacher stated.

Kagome groaned and slid down her seat until only her forehead was visible. Ayumi, ever the genius, poked her.

"Kagome, what's the matter?"

Kagome shot her friend a half-hearted glare before making her way back up the chair, a flash of white catching her eye. Eyeing the seemingly innocent piece of paper warily, Kagome poked it with her pencil before drawing her hand back quickly as if the test would bite her. She had stayed up all night studying, but Kagome was useless at math. Flipping the paper over, she was immediately assaulted by a variety of numbers and symbols. Groaning once again, Kagome started filling in random circles in the "Multiple Choice" section, hoping that she would at least get a passing grade.

She had a sneaking suspicion that the teacher was just waiting for an excuse to fail her…

--

After she collapsed onto the grassy field, Kagome sighed, looking sideways at her friends who were gossiping about boys and celebrities as normal teenagers. She picked at her dish of rice with vegetables on the side, sighing again, letting her eyes wander. She felt the warmness of the afternoon sun's gentle rays and the faint tickle of the grass underneath her legs. Slowly, her eyes began to close, letting the chatter of her three friends fade away, a small smile gracing her lips.

This atmosphere was shattered as Kagome's eyes snapped open at once to the high-pitched squeals of her friends and a foot nudging her shin none too gently.

"What?" Kagome asked, a little bit annoyed.

Eri grinned enthusiastically, looking to the right of Kagome. Following her friend's gaze, Kagome jumped when her eyes landed on Hojo, looking quite meek and blushing lightly. Kagome's cheeks started to stain pink, too, as the memories of that morning flooded into her mind.

She was immediately knocked out of her reverie when Hojo started to speak.

"S-say, Higurashi," he stuttered.

Kagome blushed even further at Hojo's obvious shyness.

"I know that it's your birthday today, and I was wondering… I was wondering whether or not you would like to go out tonight," he finished with one breath averting his gaze.

Yuka started bouncing up and down, but stopped at a warning glare from Eri.

"Well? Would you like to?" Ayumi asked Kagome slyly, elbowing her, but before Kagome had a chance to answer, Yuka interrupted her.

"Of _course_ she would like to go, Hojo!" She all but squealed, seeming to think that the question had come from Hojo instead of Ayumi in her ecstatic state.

Hojo smiled in delight and before Kagome could complain, she was dragged away by her friends. She sighed as she tried to tune out the excited babbling of Eri and Yuka, but she still managed to catch a sentence here and there.

"And of course you'll have to buy some shoes to match-"

"And I have the perfect pair in mind!"

"You do already?"

"Yes, I saw them at that boutique that just opened at the mall the other day," Yuka said wisely.

"Oh! I've heard of that place! They say that the service there is great," Eri responded, and as the two made plans to go there later that day, Kagome groaned at the short attention span of her best friends.

--

If one were to walk past the Sunset Shrine at 5:00 in the afternoon on July 17, one would see a certain raven-headed girl who was making her way up the many steps of the shrine, looking extremely frazzled with three bags worth of shopping.

_'Just a pair of shoes my ass,'_ the girl in question thought scathingly.

Kagome had had a long day at school, and the fact that two of her three best friends had been obsessing over her date with Hojo made it seem that much longer. Ayumi had just sat back, being… Ayumi. That is to say - spacing out and making a clever comment or two whenever she felt need be. As the Shrine came into view, Kagome paused, admiring the effect the sunset had on the building. The structure seemed to be bathed in a golden light, giving it an other-worldly appearance.

Right after school, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi (but mainly Eri and Yuka) had tricked Kagome into going to the mall with them. She didn't know how they had managed to do it, but Kagome would have to ask them so that she could use the useful technique on her brother. Driving her thoughts away from the many different chores she would theoretically be able to force upon her brother, Kagome realized that she had already arrived at the door step of the shrine. Taking out her keys, Kagome unlocked the door and stepped in. Closing the door behind her, she toed off her shoes, dropped the heavy bags onto the floor and yelled "I'm home!"

Receiving no answer, she walked into the kitchen to see if her Mother was making dinner as she usually did at around 5:00. After seeing that no one was there, Kagome frowned and walked to the fridge. After one and a half hours worth of shopping non-stop, a girl could get thirsty! She paused as the noticed her brother's messy scrawl on a piece of paper stuck to the fridge.

_"Hey Sis!___

_ Grandpa, Mom and I are going out – we'll be back very late. Some hospital guy called with an emergency. Grandpa assumed that it was a 'demon plaguing the poor man' and he insisted on going. Of course, we had to hurry, and it was no time to argue with Grandpa, so Mom gave in. She wouldn't let me stay home alone since I'm 'too young' so I had to get dragged along too. Well, see you later!_

_ Souta"_

Kagome laughed as she read about her Grandpa's antics. He had always ranted about the family's ancestors and how they had been a very prestigious line of Priests and Priestesses with holy powers. With a smile still on her face, Kagome opened the refrigerator to get a cold drink. She decided on having a glass of orange juice and poured herself a glass. Downing it with one gulp, she grimaced as brain freeze attacked her. After the pain subsided, she poured herself yet another glass.

She took a small sip, placing the carton of orange juice back inside the fridge. She set the glass back onto the counter as the day's activities finally got to her. Kagome's eyelids began to feel very heavy. She stumbled her way towards the living room and collapsed on the soft, cushiony couch. As her eyes finally closed, Kagome promised herself that she would only rest her eyes for a bit.

"Only for a bit…" she mumbled.

A few seconds later, Kagome's soft, even breathing could be heard throughout the room, the glass of orange juice on the kitchen counter and the date with Hojo both forgotten.

--

AN: Well, I wanted to write more, but this seemed like such a cute place to end it The next chapter will be more serious and the plot will become more apparent. I think. I don't even know if this story has a solid point to it yet --; Well… I hope you enjoyed reading this re-posted chapter!

-Snow


End file.
